This invention relates to container appliances for chemical sterilization of small articles such as soft contact lenses, and more particularly, relates to pressure relief venting of such appliances.
In recent years, a disinfection treatment, particularly for soft contact lenses, has been developed in which the lenses are immersed in a solution of hydrogen peroxide which is catalytically decomposed to liberate disinfecting oxygen gas. As a result, the liberated oxygen produces a pressure increase within the disinfecting vessel which accordingly must be vented to the ambience. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,941 a contact lens sterilization container is described for use with hydrogen peroxide in which the described sterilization container includes a gasket to provide a water-proof seal between the cylindrical container body and removable cap on the container. The cap is provided with a complex configuration of oxygen-venting passageways leading to a venting groove formed in the upper part of the cap. An elastic O-ring fits into the vent groove, and as the pressure of the oxygen increases during the disinfection process within the container, the seal formed by the 0-ring acts a pressure relief valve to vent the oxygen. The disadvantages in molding the complex system of vent passageways in the cap are eliminated in the lens container and venting gasket in accordance with the present invention.